Foolproof Peanut Butter Raincloud

Peanut butter is one of my all time favorite foods, I eat it nearly every day, typically on toast at breakfast. I also believe that the combination of peanut butter and chocolate is a peak of culinary greatness. I am not a huge sweets person, but if I see a dessert on the menu featuring these two ingredients I am probably loosening the belt and giving it a shot. I was clearly the kid who hoarded the Reese’s on Halloween. All that being said, I never would have thought to put peanut butter in beer. I know that brewers are experimenting with a really wide range of ingredients, but peanut butter?!? When I first heard that Foolproof Brewing was releasing a version of their popular Raincloud porter with the addition of peanut butter, I thought it was a joke, and when I realized that it wasn’t I knew I had to give it a shot. If I had to choose a style to mix with PB porter or stout, with the natural chocolate flavors from the roasted barley, would seem like logical choices. This is part of the reason I am writing Hoppy Boston, I can try some pretty strange beers and then report my findings to you my readers. Foolproof Peanut Butter Raincloud is available on a rotating basis in 12 oz. cans.

Foolproof Peanut Butter Raincloud pours pitch black with a solid off-white head. The scent is a mixture of roasted malt and some peanut butter. Similar to traditional Raincloud, the beer is malt forward with touches of milk chocolate, cappuccino and molasses. The peanut butter is present in the flavor but subtle, it adds complexity without being the star of the show. The hops round out the beer with some grassy notes and a bit of bitterness. The beer is medium bodied and drinks smooth, not too boozy at 5.4% ABV. The finish is crisp with some roasted malts and peanut butter flavor in the aftertaste. I was surprised how much I enjoyed Peanut Butter Raincloud, I love peanut butter and I love porter, but I would have never thought that combining the two would be a good idea. I am glad I was wrong, and encourage you to give this a shot. Hoppy Boston score: 4.5/5.